Fresh Fish (IO)

The stench of freshly caught fish reeked through the streets at the poorer end of Kirigakure. This smell was familiar to Wendigo as the orphanage she grew up in was based close to here. Hands in pockets and wearing her usual attire, she strutted around taking deep breaths of the smell while tracing its origin. Despite the fact one may think she was happy about the smell, that was far from the case. It'd tormented her throughout her entire life thus far. Naturally she longed to lay eyes upon the miscreants producing it. With the odorous aroma growing ever stronger as she took each step, the next corner seemed like the last. Turning it only shocked Wendigo. Facing her was a mental challenge, why did this disgusting scent that perverted her home draw in so many people?

Of course, she'd arrived at the fish markets. Swathes of people gathered around each stall inspecting the grotesque, bug-eyed, water dwelling meat slabs. The fundamental part of how fish were caught and sold whole, was lost on Wendigo. She only ate them after their skin and bones were removed, usually in stew; this normally annihilated the abhorrent stench assaulting her nostrils at the moment. Confused, Wendigo quickly gathered her thoughts and recalled her training. There was reading material in her curriculum that explained this part of town, although it didn't stress the popularity of such a place. Still facing the predicament of a lack of understanding, Wendigo's only recourse was to accept this as normal behaviour and acclimate.

Using a facade of confidence and swallowing the building pressure to vomit, she walked to the nearest stall, which apparently stocked hoki. Suddenly the popularity of this place sunk in as she saw the ridiculously cheap prices. "One of these fish could feed five mouths.. And they only cost 8 ryo..." She unconsciously whispered. Despite feeling like the freakish creature could come to life any moment, she began reaching for her wallet.

Topic Stats:

The sweet familiar aroma of freshly caught fish wafted up from the docks, through Kirigakure's seaside streets, and into Asami Miyamoto's nose. It was a smell she grew up with and that still conjured up happy memories of days spent at sea with her late father. They would leave in the mornings before the sun rose and be back after the sun had fallen with a boatful of fish ready for market. Even now, as the diminutive chuunin walked the cobbled streets of her home village, she could feel the memory of her father become stronger and stronger with each step she took towards the sea.

It was comforting to know her loved ones never truly left her.

Lost in thought, and happy to be away from Azami and Asumi for the morning, Asami did not bother taking the fastest route to the docks. Instead, she meandered this way and that perhaps adding upwards of ten minutes of travel time to what should have normally been less than a five-minute walk . However, soon enough she did indeed arrive and found herself amongst the treasures of the deep—it felt like a home away from home.

Smelt, tuna, and cod lined the streets where various vendors harangued passersby and bantered with their fellow fishmongers. These sights were commonplace, however. What caught Asami's eye and soon her attention was an abnormally sized grouper. The creature's mouth looked large enough to swallow a moderately sized dog. Of course, she'd seen groupers before but nothing like this monster, it was massive.

The novelty of the thing drew Asami's attention from where she was going for just enough time to get her in trouble. Indeed, when she turned her attention back to where she was going it was too late; her next step would bring her into a collision with a figure somehow shorter than her if said figure did not move from her position directly in front of one of the many stalls. Yes, even as a chuunin the young girl's situational awareness was distinctly lacking.

Oh well.

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WC: 344
TWC: 344

With the question of whether or not she should buy a fish clouding Wendigo's mind, she had no idea of the girl currently making a collision course. Nearing her wallet with each passing moment as the fish (or more accurately the price) looked more and more appetizing; with fingertips just barely entering Wendigo's pocket, suddenly an external force shunted the girl sideways. "Geh." An embarrassing noise barely escaped Wendigo as she quickly assessed the situation. Briefly ignoring the other girl's presence, her immediate assumption led to believing that some higher power was protecting her from purchasing the fish. However, before she could start praising the name of Kirigakure and its god, presumably the Mizukage, Wendigo came upon a new realization.

Statically turning her head to face the other girl before slowly turning the rest of her body, sliding her feet along the cobblestone below. "What do I do in these situations again.. She doesn't look like an enemy so capture and torture are out of the question, do I apologize?" After some internal monologue, Wendigo performed a quick half-bow before raising her head and calmly talking. "I'm sorry. This statement is normally used to excuse oneself for-" "Wait? Shit." Quickly attempting to recover from her blunder of rehearsing a portion from the orphanage's text books on social etiquette, Wendigo spoke again. "Erruhh.. You like fish?" At the same time, with her right hand she performed a pathetically limp pointing index finger towards the nearby fish stall.

One must also stress that despite her emotions and blunder, somehow Wendigo remained completely straight-faced while her tone of voice was consistently calm. A light scuff mark now marred her right shoulder from being bumped into. In addition, due to the sudden impact Wendigo's cap sat off center, pushed towards her left side.

Topic Stats:

Asami really needed to work on that whole looking where she was going thing. One moment she was looking away and the next she was fall over another human. It really wasn't safe nor was it conduct befitting her rank in the slightest. Righting herself, the teenager found herself looking at a rather strange person. Well, strange probably isn't the right word. Rather, it was strange that she had found someone shorter than herself—it felt nice to tower over someone for once. That said, it didn't help much with the awkward exchange that followed.

"Uh...yeah, sorry," Asami couldn't help but give the other girl a strange look. "And yeah, I love fish."

The chuunin's voice dropped to a hushed whisper.

"Just not this fish," she crinkled her nose and gestured at the nearby stall. "Do you know why it's so cheap?"

Asami didn't wait for a response.

"It's three days old, you probably don't want to eat it. Fishermen use it as bait or sell it to unsuspecting buyers."

Hopefully, the implication was clear.

"Follow me, I'll show you a good place," Asami shrugged, she might as well help out. "There's a place just at the end of the dock."

Asami nodded over in the direction of the docks. The place she was referring to was, of course, owned by one of her father's former associates, Goru. He was a good man and deserved a bit business. Plus, it helped that he had some of the best fish in the whole market for a reasonable price.

"So...I take it this is your first time to the market?" Asami would ask if the other girl were to follow her.

It was a pretty safe assumption to make. After all, the kid was just about to buy three-day-old fish. Then again, Asami'd been wrong before.

The crowds soon swelled around Asami and the girl behind her was lost. Try as she might the wall of humanity was impassable leaving the young chuunin alone once more. So much for meeting a new friend—she slunk back home where she knew only pandemonium awaited. Her cosmic sibling, Azami, seemed to fancy herself a singer despite her distinct lack musical talent.

[Exit, TWC: 686. +3 stats & +686 words towards Soul Resonance]

Approved